Litigation and Policy Changes Drive Up Costs Before the General Election

Court decisions on election administration, released in the weeks before November’s midterm vote, had an impact not only on state policies but on state and county budgets as well.

In Arkansas, election officials revised their instructions to poll workers to reflect the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision to strike down voter identification rules in the state. Supplies for polling sites also had to be changed, including signs that explained the types of identification required to vote. The secretary of state’s office said it had spent more than $300,000 on voter ID machines and associated costs.

The Missouri appellate court amended the language of an early-voting referendum, an action that necessitated the reprinting of 100,000 ballots in Greene County. The state does not reimburse localities for such costs, so the tens of thousands of dollars required came out of the county’s budget.

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